Serious question: What effect does legalization have on an employer's ability to drug test employees or potential employees and deny or terminate employment based on a positive test for marijuana?

We were just discussing that very thing at work. I work for a construction company and our safety director says it's a big concern. It will probably mean that an employee will have to be doing it during working hours to face disciplinary action, just like alcohol.

Serious question: What effect does legalization have on an employer's ability to drug test employees or potential employees and deny or terminate employment based on a positive test for marijuana?

If someone tested positive for marijuana use during a random screening while at work or something like that, obviously the employers would still be able to fire that person (I think). It could make things murkier in terms of denying employment based on marijuana use, although it would probably be hard to prove that you got denied employment for that reason alone.

We were just discussing that very thing at work. I work for a construction company and our safety director says it's a big concern. It will probably mean that an employee will have to be doing it during working hours to face disciplinary action, just like alcohol.

Good post. It's more or less what I was thinking, but posted first and said a little better.

If someone tested positive for marijuana use during a random screening while at work or something like that, obviously the employers would still be able to fire that person (I think). It could make things murkier in terms of denying employment based on marijuana use, although it would probably be hard to prove that you got denied employment for that reason alone.

The unfortunate thing is that Marijuana is detectable up to a month after use. An employee who only smokes pot on Friday night's will test positive all the time, even if he/she stops for a couple weeks.

The unfortunate thing is that Marijuana is detectable up to a month after use. An employee who only smokes pot on Friday night's will test positive all the time, even if he/she stops for a couple weeks.

I've just had a stroke of genius, folks. Legally sold pot should be doped (no pun intended, for real this time, though) with a volatile marker that deteriorates in a predictable manner and is undetectable within a day.

Oh, I forgot the part about marijuana prohibition being overwhelmingly enforced against minorities and poor people. Marijuana use is not particularly high amongst minorities and poor people. Well to do white folks smoke plenty of pot, they just don't get arrested and tried and put in prison for it. If it already wasn't a tragedy now it takes an even more sinister turn.

Gameface is right on the button about these issues.
This is a huge win for the people of Colorado and Washington, something actually worth while for the people.
I hope this becomes a war between the federal government and these state governments, so that the mainstream can finally see with there own eyes how evil the feds can be when you don't see things their way.
I akin the way our federal government works today to the tyranny that was England during the years before the Boston Tea Party.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson

The unfortunate thing is that Marijuana is detectable up to a month after use. An employee who only smokes pot on Friday night's will test positive all the time, even if he/she stops for a couple weeks.

That's supposed to be the case..... but I've had multiple friends of mine test negative for marijuana after smoking small amounts.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered." - Thomas Jefferson

That's supposed to be the case..... but I've had multiple friends of mine test negative for marijuana after smoking small amounts.

Marijuana tests have a certain tolerance. That's to avoid potential false positives, or cause a positive test due to second hand exposure. Also, your metabolism has a lot to do with how long it remains detectable. I could get into much more detail, but drinking a lot of water reduces the concentration of your sample...

Okay, a little more detail. The active component of marijuana, THC, is stored in your body's fat cells. Your body turns over (burns the old and replaces with new) fat cells about once a month. Think of your fat cells like a sponge. They hold water. If you get dehydrated it's like squeezing the sponge, and all the little impurities come out in the wash. Take a dry sponge and hold it under the sink and it'll absorb most of the water without releasing very many impurities. Now, you can't just flush THC out of your fat cells. Cranberry juice does not remove all traces of THC from your body. The fat cells themselves only release the THC as they are metabolized, but your hydration levels determine how concentrated the THC in your urine is. Cranberry juice is actually a diuretic and has an effect like squeezing the sponge. If you were to wake up in the morning, drink a gallon of cranberry juice, hold your urine and then take a piss test your sample would be just about as concentrated as possible. On the other hand, if you were to drink cranberry juice the night before your test, wake up expel the urine that has been "steeping" in your bladder all night, then start pounding water (too much water can kill you), urinating frequently and getting to the point where the water coming in is being urinated out rather quickly then you urine will have had the least amount of contact time with your metabolizing fat cells, therefore your sample would be at it's least concentrated point. If you were a daily pot smoker this wouldn't make any difference, you'd still test positive. But if you were an occasional light pot smoker this would most likely (depending on your metabolism) allow you to pass.